Tim Hardwick
Tim is a Senior Editor at MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2016. Formerly a magazine journalist, his work has appeared in over 30 newsstand print publications and online brands covering a range of topics, from the latest trends in technology to the mysteries of ancient history.
Based in the UK, Tim's current role at MacRumors involves editorial oversight and how tos, in addition to covering daily news and contributing occasional reviews. Tim can be reached at tim@macrumors.com, Telegram (@waxeditorial) or Twitter.
Based in the UK, Tim's current role at MacRumors involves editorial oversight and how tos, in addition to covering daily news and contributing occasional reviews. Tim can be reached at tim@macrumors.com, Telegram (@waxeditorial) or Twitter.
Tim Hardwick's Articles
WhatsApp Starts Rolling Out New Voice Message Interface and Features
Voice messages or "voice notes" are often the preferred form of communication on WhatsApp, with on average around 7 billion sent over the platform every day, and today WhatsApp has announced several new features to improve the experience of using them.
The most notable change that recently came out of beta testing is out-of-chat playback, which lets you listen to a voice message outside of...
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Facebook Messenger Gains New Slack-Style Shortcuts Command System
Meta (aka Facebook) today announced the introduction of Messenger "shortcuts," a new Slack-style command system that allows users to speed up communication and get messages to their intended recipients.
Building on the @username tagging method to direct a message to a specific person in a chat, the new system introduces @everyone for grabbing everyone's attention in a group chat, and /silent ...
Apple's Craig Federighi Explains Why iOS Auto-Updates Often Arrive Several Weeks Late
When it comes to downloading iOS software updates, Apple users can be reasonably divided into two camps: Those who manually seek out updates the moment Apple releases them, and those who are happy to let their device's Automatic Updates feature take care of everything in the background with minimal input on their part.
While it's generally acknowledged that manually tapping into Settings ->...
How to Get Charging Reminders and Notifications for Apple Watch
This article explains how to get daily Apple Watch charging reminders and "fully charged" Apple Watch notification alerts on your iPhone. Keep reading to learn how it's done.
Despite the fact that Apple Watch has been updated each year since it was first launched in 2015, the battery life of Apple's latest Series 7 smartwatch still only promises "up to 18 hours" of use on a single charge.
...
How to Set Up Custom Email Domains With iCloud Mail on iPhone
With the release of iOS 15.4, Apple has added the ability for users with paid iCloud+ plans to create custom email domains directly on their iPhone. This article explains how it's done.
When you subscribe to iCloud+ (prices start at $0.99) you can use custom domains to send and receive email with iCloud Mail. That means if you own a personal domain name, you can set up iCloud Mail to use it...
Spotify Tests Vertical Scrolling 'Audio Newsfeed' to Aid Podcast Discoverability
Spotify is testing a new podcast feature that uses a TikTok-style vertical "audio newsfeed" to enhance podcast discoverability in the app, reports TechCrunch.
As shown in the embedded video below posted to Twitter, the newsfeed presents users with 60-second audio clips of shows in a vertically scrolling feed. It reportedly uses a machine learning model that has been trained on 100,000 hours...
Samsung's iMac-Style 'Smart Monitor M8' With AirPlay Now Available to Pre-Order
Samsung today announced it has opened pre-orders for its new Smart Monitor M8, a 32-inch display that offers USB-C charging connectivity, AirPlay support, and several smart TV features built into its distinctively iMac-like design.
The M8 houses a 4K UHD flat LCD panel providing 400 nits of brightness, a 60Hz refresh rate, 99% sRGB, HDR support, and adaptive picture technology that...
WhatsApp Tests New 2GB File Size Transfer Limit
WhatsApp is testing out a much larger 2GB cap for file transfers between users of the instant messaging platform, reports WABetaInfo.
WhatsApp's file-sharing capabilities have become a key feature of the service, and the app has included the ability to share media files within conversations since 2017, but its 100MB file size limitation hasn't changed in that time.
However, according to...
Overcast for iOS Gets Major Redesign and Several Much-Requested New Features
Developer Marco Arment's popular third-party podcast player Overcast received an update today that brings the largest redesign in the app's near eight-year history, with frequently requested features added and many under-the-hood improvements made.
Firing up the updated app, regular users will first notice the overhauled home screen, with new customizable visual identities for playlists...
EU Provisionally Agrees on Law That Would Force Apple to Allow Alternative App Stores, Sideloading, and iMessage Interoperability
European lawmakers have provisionally agreed upon a new law that would force Apple to allow user access to third-party app stores and permit the sideloading of apps on iPhones and iPads, among other sweeping changes designed to make the digital sector fairer and more competitive.
The European Council and European Parliament said on Friday they had reached a political agreement on the...
Apple TV App Comes to Philips MediaSuite Hotel Room TVs
Apple's official TV app is now available to hotel guests whose rooms come with a Philips MediaSuite hospitality television set.
PPDS, the global provider of Philips TV products for the hospitality market, has partnered with Apple to bring the TV app to Philips MediaSuite installed hotels, where guests can now gain access to their Apple TV+ subscription when away from home.
With the Apple ...
HomePod Mini Launches in Belgium, Netherlands, and Switzerland
Apple today started taking orders for the HomePod mini in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland for the first time, as spotted by iCulture.
Apple said earlier this month that it would make the HomePod mini available to order in the above countries by the end of March, but never gave a specific release date. The speaker also gained support for languages spoken in those countries as part...
Samsung Rumored to Launch First 'Rollable' Foldable Phone Later This Year
Samsung will add a third foldable device to its smartphone lineup this year that will likely feature a unique rollable form factor, according to a reliable leaker of Samsung's plans.
Oppo X 2021 rollable phone concept
The existing Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 have been relatively successful additions to Samsung's smartphone family, and the company reportedly plans to ship over 10...
Twitter's DM Search Bar Now Lets You Search the Content of Messages
Twitter has bolstered its search feature for direct messages so that users can now search their inbox using keywords and names to find the specific message they are looking for.
The DM search bar isn't new, but previously it only allowed you to find the name of a person or a group chat in your inbox. The latest development means you can now refine searches to find particular content in your...
iPad Air 5: How to Hard Reset or Shut Down
Like the iPad Air 4, Apple's fifth-generation iPad Air (2022) features an edge-to-edge display with no Home button included and Touch ID built into the Power button instead. The lack of a Home button means some gestures and features are different to older iPads, such as the restart, shut down, and force restart methods.
On iPad Air, a shut down and a restart are the same gesture, while a...
How to Use Siri on Apple's Studio Display
Apple's Studio Display comes with three built-in microphones that allows it to recognize "Hey Siri" voice commands and respond to spoken queries, and the connected Mac doesn't even have to officially support Siri for it to work. Keep reading to learn how.
While Siri support has been available on most recent Macs for some time, some Macs such as the 2019 Mac Pro and Mac mini (2018 and later)...
How to Create Your Own GIFs in the Twitter iOS App
Twitter has updated its iOS app with a new in-app camera feature that lets users create their own animated GIFs for posting to the social media platform. The following steps show you how it's done.
In Twitter, hit the big blue plus button to start composing a tweet.
Tap the picture icon in the compose window, just above the virtual keyboard.
Tap the camera icon.
Make sure GIF is selected ...
How to Authorize Apple TV Purchases on Apple Watch
Following the release of watchOS 8.5 for Apple Watch and tvOS 15.4 for Apple TV, it's now possible to confirm Apple TV purchases from your wrist.
This new method of verifying content purchases works for both one-time purchases like movies as well as in-app purchases on Apple TV. The following steps show how it works.
Update your Apple TV to tvOS 15.4 (Settings -> System -> Software...
How to Check and Update Your Apple Studio Display's Firmware
Computer monitors and displays don't typically receive firmware updates, but Apple's 27-inch 5K Studio Display isn't typical. That's because it contains its own dedicated A13 processor (the same chip Apple used in the iPhone 11) and runs a full version of iOS, which powers the audio output and deals with webcam processing.
The inclusion of a dedicated computer processor means Apple can issue ...
Apple to Face Claims it Bars Third-Party Heart-Rate App Functionality on Apple Watch
Apple must face claims it illegally monopolized the U.S. market for heart-rate monitoring apps on Apple Watch, a California-based federal judge said on Monday.
AliveCor, a company that that markets an ECG "KardiaBand" for the Apple Watch, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in May 2021 accusing the Cupertino company of changing the heart-rate algorithm for the Apple Watch to gain an...
